Misadventures in babysitting
by Firestarhk
Summary: When Doyle is called away on demon business, Cordelia offers to babysit his four-year-old daughter Fiona without a second thought. Will everything go smoothly? In progress. AU where Doyle and his ex-wife Harriet had a daughter together (Fiona) prior to divorcing.
1. Chapter 1

Doyle burst through the door of Angel Investigations.

"Hi. You're late," Angel said, looking up from his desk.

"I know, sorry," Doyle was out of breath. "The nanny was late to come to pick up Fiona – I have her this whole week – Harry's out of town," Doyle poured himself a cup of coffee and took a sip.

"It's fine," Angel looked back down at the paperwork he was filling out.

"And I've been trying to figure out what to do with her tomorrow – by the way, I won't be able to make it in – I've got some personal business to attend to – I leave early in the morning and won't be back until late at night. Demon stuff."

"Oh," Angel looked up again.

"Can't Fiona's nanny just take her for the day?" Cordelia joined in the conversation.

"No, she has some kind of family thing going on," Doyle replied.

"You know, I was actually going to talk to you guys about closing the office tomorrow," Angel said, after a brief pause in the conversation. "An old friend is going to be in the neighborhood."

"Buffy?" Doyle stole a glance at Cordelia who grinned.

"Maybe," Angel gave Doyle a warning look.

"Well, if we're closed tomorrow – I won't have anything going on," Cordelia said. "I could babysit Fiona, Doyle."

Both Doyle and Angel stared at their friend in shock.

"Do…do you have any experience with children, Cordy?" Angel finally asked the question both he and Doyle were wondering.

"Well…I was a child once," Cordelia said after a moment of thought.

"She's got us there, pal," Doyle said to Angel.

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "I mean how hard can it be? She's what – four, right?"

"Yep," Doyle replied. "She can be handful, though."

"I got this," Cordelia said, trying to sound more confident than she felt. One day with a preschooler? She dealt with literal monsters at her job every day. Babysitting Fiona Doyle would be a piece of cake.

"All right," Doyle shrugged. "Come to my apartment at 8:00 tomorrow – she'll be eating breakfast. I'll give you the details about the day's schedule then. Thanks, Cordy!"

"No problem," Cordelia grinned. What had she gotten herself into?


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning at 8 am sharp, Cordelia knocked three times on Doyle's door. He opened it.

"Mornin' Cordelia!" He greeted his friend.

"Morning," Cordelia smiled, somewhat nervous about how the day would go. What the hell did she even know about kids? What had she been thinking?

"Come on in," Doyle stepped out of the way and gestured for her to come inside.

"Fiona, we have a guest! Say hello to Cordelia – you remember her, don't ya, sweetheart?" Doyle asked the angelic-faced child sitting at the table, spoonful of oatmeal mid-air. Cordelia had always thought that Fiona was a simply a female child version of Doyle – with longer hair.

"Hello, Cordelia," Fiona smiled up at Cordelia. She was cute, Cordelia had to admit. No wonder where she got it from – she stole a quick glance at Doyle.

"Hi, Fiona! And you can call me Cordy if you want to," Cordelia grinned back.

"Okay – after breakfast Fiona usually plays for a while. Lunch is at noon – a PB&J should suffice. Nap at 1:00 – no exceptions," he attempted to give Fiona a stern look, but his daughter just giggled back. Doyle soon broke into a smile and chuckled along.

"Where was I?" Doyle asked suddenly. "Oh yes – she'll sleep until about 3. When she wakes up, she can watch a little TV for a while. Supper around 5:00 – hell, you can just put some frozen waffles in the toaster," he quickly glanced at Fiona to see if she had picked up on his profanity. She seemed to be distracted by watching the oatmeal fall from her spoon back into her bowl. Doyle smiled.

"Fiona Harriet Doyle – quit playing with your food!" he scolded with a laugh.

"Okay, Daddy," Fiona ate a spoonful of oatmeal.

"How about bedtime?" Cordelia asked quickly.

"Oh – 8:00. You can read her a story or two – but after two – it's lights out," Doyle replied.

"Sounds great," Cordelia said, wondering if she should have been taking notes.

"Great. Thank you so much for doing this," Doyle grabbed his leather jacket off the coatrack by the front door.

"Fifi – come and say goodbye to Daddy," Doyle called to Fiona, who leapt from her chair and ran to her father – practically jumping into his arms.

"Bye Daddy!" Fiona said enthusiastically.

"Bye, sweetheart – be good for Cordy," Doyle gave his daughter a kiss on the cheek and an affectionate pat on the rear. Fiona ran back to the table.

"Thanks again, Cordelia," Doyle said to his friend, who hoped he couldn't tell she was actually terrified.

"No problem. See you tomorrow," Cordelia gave Doyle a wave and the biggest, most confident-looking smile she could muster.

"So, Fiona, what would you like to do after breakfast?" Cordelia turned to the girl, who was staring straight back at her.

"Are you in love with my daddy?" Fiona replied, without blinking.

"Huh?" Cordelia wasn't sure she'd heard Fiona correctly. All Cordelia did was ask what Fiona wanted to do when she was done with her breakfast. How did she get on _that _topic of discussion? Kids were weird.

"I know you want to marry him and make babies with him, too," Fiona continued nonchalantly.

Okay, what in the hell? Did she even KNOW how babies were made?

"Do…do you know how babies are made?" Cordelia asked nervously.

"Of course, I do!" Fiona sounded offended that Cordelia would ask such a question. "Mommies and daddies put special ingredients in a blender, mix them together, and out pops the baby into the mommy's tummy," Fiona replied.

"Where did you hear that?" Cordelia asked, intrigued.

"That's what my daddy told me," Fiona answered, taking a sip of orange juice from a Hello Kitty cup.

"Oh," Cordelia replied slowly. Yeah, that sounded like something Doyle would say.

"I'm all done," Fiona announced, after gulping down her orange juice and finishing her bowl of oatmeal.

"Okay, great," Cordelia said. "What are you supposed to do with your dishes?"

Without a word, Fiona went over to the sink and tossed the bowl, spoon, and cup into it. "Let's play Barbies!" Fiona exclaimed excitedly; darting passed Cordelia before she could respond. Cordelia followed behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

Cordelia and Fiona ended up in a bedroom that looked exactly like Cordelia had been expecting with its pink walls, once of which had Fiona's name in white decorative wooden letters hanging up over the white daybed pushed against it. The quilt and sham were, naturally, pink and covered with hearts and butterflies. Various stuffed bears, bunnies, unicorns, and Hello Kitties were scattered all over the bed and floor nearby.

Fiona went and sat down next to the giant Barbie Dream House near the window. As Cordelia walked over to join her, she noticed the photo of Doyle and Fiona sitting on Fiona's nightstand – both smiling big. While Cordelia was very conflicted with how she felt about Doyle as a friend (or something more), based on what little she had seen of his relationship with his daughter – she could tell he was a good father.

Cordelia took a seat next to Fiona. Fiona handed Cordelia a Barbie and picked up a Ken. "Here – you be you and I'll be my daddy," Fiona turned the Ken doll to face Cordelia's Barbie. "Oh, Cordy, I love you!" Fiona said, attempting to imitate Doyle's thick Irish accent. While it wasn't perfect, she didn't exactly fail, either.

"Wait – why are we playing as your dad and me? What happened to Barbie and Ken?" Cordelia asked, confused, and rather uncomfortable.

Fiona facepalmed as if Cordelia was the stupidest person she'd ever met. "Because," she said exasperatedly. "Barbie and Ken are on VACATION. You and my daddy are HOUSESITTING for them."

"Why did they ask both of us?" Cordelia asked. Although she was still uncomfortable, she was not expecting this storyline for what she thought would be a simple Barbie game.

"Well, they just asked my dad, but he asked you to help," Fiona explained, fixing a kitchen chair that had tipped over.

"Why?"

"He didn't want to be lonely!" Fiona exclaimed.

"Well…where are you?" Cordelia asked. "Why couldn't you help him housesit for Barbie and Ken?"

"I'm at my mommy's house," Fiona sounded prepared for this question.

"Has…has your dad ever said he's in love with me?" Cordelia changed the subject. She had only met Fiona a couple times, but the child seemed to be under the impression that there was some Cordoyle chemistry going on. She had to be getting that from somewhere.

"Well, no, but it's so obvious," Fiona replied. "He talks about you a lot."

"Well, I mean…we work together. Doesn't he talk about Angel a lot too?"

Fiona shook her head. "Nuh-uh. By the way, why is he called that? He sure doesn't look like an angel."

Cordelia ignored Fiona's question. "What does your dad say about me?"

"Well, one time I wanted him to tell me a bedtime story. He started to take a book from my bookshelf, but I said, 'no Daddy, that's cheating.' So, he came over to my bed and started to tell me a story about a princess. Princess Mordelia. And guess what the name of the prince who rescues her is?" Fiona asked.

"Goyle?" Cordelia guessed.

"Close. Boyle," Fiona replied.

Cordelia was stunned. Doyle had been blatantly obvious in his story, even to a four-year-old. Of all the names he could have chosen, he might as well have just said Princess Cordelia and Prince Doyle. While she was still a bit embarrassed, Cordelia was grateful that Fiona had no issue throwing her father under the bus. She probably wouldn't have found out from Doyle himself – he would've just kept playing these games with her.

Cordelia and Fiona played for a while longer and Cordelia glanced at the Hello Kitty clock on the wall. It was 12:05. "Oh no! We've gotta get you lunch," Cordelia said to Fiona.

"Oh yeah," Fiona said. "Can we play more Barbies later?"

"Sure. Let's go make us some sandwiches," Cordelia stood up and headed for the kitchen, with Fiona following behind her.

Cordelia found the jelly in the fridge, and Fiona helped her find the bread, peanut butter, and plates. After she had made them each a PB&J, Fiona opened a drawer.

"You like to eat shape sandwiches?" Fiona gestured towards various cookie cutters scattered through the drawer.

"I don't think I've ever had a shape sandwich," Cordelia said honestly. "Do you like them?"

Fiona nodded. "Yeah, Daddy always makes me a flower or a butterfly sandwich. But today, I think I want this," she pulled out a shamrock cookie cutter. "We're Irish you know," she said proudly.

Cordelia laughed. "I know. Okay, I'll have a shamrock sandwich too," she carefully cut the sandwiches and put them each on a plate – Fiona had naturally selected a Strawberry Shortcake plate for Cordy, and a Barbie plate for herself. The two sat and ate in silence for a while.


	4. Chapter 4

Cordelia occasionally would ask Fiona a question – about school, what she liked to do at her mom's house, or her favorite things to do with Doyle, and Fiona would reply, but Cordelia could tell that, much to her relief, Fiona appeared to be getting tired. After lunch, they had time for another thirty-minute Barbie game, before Cordelia announced it was time for Fiona's nap.

"Aw, I don't want to," Fiona pouted.

"It's just a couple hours," Cordelia coaxed. "And besides, you don't want me to have to tell your dad you didn't listen, do you?" Things had been going pretty well for the most part, and Cordelia hated to threaten Fiona, but she wanted to do a good job babysitting for Doyle, and she knew in order to do that she had to take charge.

Fiona looked up at Cordelia and sighed. Cordelia was pretty sure she heard Fiona mutter, "snitch" under her breath, but she wasn't sure. Fiona stood up and headed for the bathroom. "Okay, I'll take a nap after I go to the bathroom," she groaned.

"Great, thanks," Cordelia flashed Fiona a grin, but Fiona just stared back. Soon, Cordelia had Fiona all settled in with her menagerie of stuffed animals.

"See you in a bit," Cordelia smiled and quietly shut the door behind her as she left Fiona's room.

Cordelia sat down on the couch and reached for the remote. Suddenly, she realized how tired she herself was. She leaned back and closed her eyes.

Soon, Cordelia jolted awake to a, "hi Cordy!" Fiona was standing in front of her – just inches away from the woman's face.

"Ah! Fiona! You're supposed to be napping," Cordelia yawned.

"Naptime is over," Fiona said.

"No, it isn't – I just put you down," Cordelia replied.

"Is so. I looked at my clock and the little hand is on the three. That's when my dad says I can get out of my bed." Cordelia stumbled to the kitchen and checked the clock on the stove. Sure enough, it was just past three.

"Wow, that was fast," Cordelia mumbled.

"Daddy always says that too," Fiona giggled. "Can I have my snack now?"

"Yeah, sure, what do you want?" Cordelia turned towards the cupboards.

"Hmm…goldfish," Fiona pointed at a specific cupboard. "We can put them in a bowl, and you can watch TV with me." Cordelia got the snack together and she and Fiona sat down on the couch. Cordelia turned the TV on and painstakingly clicked through each channel, as Fiona didn't have any of the channels she liked memorized. Finally, the girl settled on Blue's Clues, quietly munching on her snack, but occasionally frantically shouting, "A CLUE! A CLUE!" at the screen.

This girl was LOUD, Cordelia learned.

Fiona insisted the two color after the episode had concluded and even shared one of her Hello Kitty coloring books with Cordelia. For supper, Cordelia prepared frozen waffles like Doyle had said. Just before Fiona's 8:00 bedtime, Cordelia had managed to convince the child to put on pajamas and select a couple books for them to read on the couch. During the second story however, Fiona had fallen asleep on Cordy's shoulder.

Cordelia froze. Fiona would be more comfortable in her bed, but Cordelia wasn't sure she would be able to carry her there – not to mention, she didn't want to risk waking her. Before she had decided what to do, the door quietly creaked open. Doyle was in the doorway.

"Doyle!" Cordelia was surprised and relieved. She quickly covered her mouth, fortunately, Fiona didn't stir. Doyle smiled at his sleeping daughter.

"She just fell asleep," Cordelia whispered. "Before I could get her in her bed."

"That's all right, I'll bring her there in a second," Doyle hung his jacket up.

"I thought you were going to be gone until tomorrow," Cordelia said.

"Things ended up getting resolved sooner than expected," Doyle carefully scooped Fiona up in his arms.

"Daddy," Fiona's eyes slightly opened.

"Hi, baby," Doyle kissed her forehead. "Let's get you to bed," he carried her off to her bedroom then returned to Cordelia.

"I was afraid she'd wear you out," Doyle said. "But it looks like you wore her out."

"I think she wore herself out," Cordelia said honestly. "Although, I feel worn out too." The pair chuckled.

"Was she good for you?" Doyle asked.

"Oh, yeah," Cordelia said. "Kept me entertained too." She paused. "We played an interesting Barbie game."

"Oh yeah?" Doyle sounded intrigued.

"Yeah, you and I housesat for Barbie and Ken," Cordelia finished.

Doyle chuckled again. "She is something else. Hey, thanks again – I really appreciate it. I owe you big time."

"She sure is," Cordelia agreed. "And really, it's no trouble. Always glad to help out a friend," Cordy found herself drawing out the word friend. "Well, have a good night," Cordelia grabbed her own jacket from Doyle's coatrack. "Say goodbye to Fiona for me."

"Will do," Doyle replied. "Good night," he watched Cordelia head out the door.


End file.
